Coming from a chaotic and abusive household–where his mother would abuse him both physically and mentally–Kenneth had few resources.

Though he suffered from depression that dated back to his childhood, Kenneth was still able to get his Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) degree and worked as a nurse for five years at a hospital in Virginia. It was during this time that Kenneth first pulled his back while lifting a patient at work. Shortly thereafter, he lost his job. After this, Kenneth’s depression grew as he went from working as a nurse, to becoming a construction worker, to working maintenance at a fast food restaurant, to eventually becoming unemployed and homeless.

Frank suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child and has been a patient at one of our medical partner sites ever since. Unfortunately, when Frank was 18 years old, he was in a severe car accident, leaving him with more complex medical issues including severe paraplegia.

Kiara and her daughters Jada and Imani experienced a rough few months. A death in the family unexpectedly changed finances, and Kiara fell behind on rent. When her landlord filed for eviction, Kiara was incredibly anxious. She needed a new place to live and was facing an eviction on her record. All the stress put her in the hospital for a week. All the while, Jada and Imani were going to school, Imani prepping for graduation as a senior. Fortunately, because of Jada’s involvement in the CHECK program because of her asthma, our advocates found out about the family’s legal problems and jumped in to address them. The Legal Council got the landlord to dismiss the eviction by working out a payment plan. In addition, once Kiara and the girls moved, legal advocates made sure that the girls still continued...

When Nicolas came to the United States as a young boy, he was seeking political asylum, leaving a country that was dangerous for him to live in. He and his father got along fine in the United States. However, when Nicolas turned 19, he aged out of All Kids and was left uninsured. Even worse, shortly after his birthday, he was hospitalized. Luckily prior to his hospitalization, he connected with the Legal Council. We found he was eligible for Medicaid and could even expedite his application because of his asylee status. Sure enough, Nicolas was soon covered by Medicaid and didn’t have to worry about his costly hospital stay; he could simply focus on getting...

At age 2, Rashaan was not talking at the level of most children his age. Fortunately, his doctor noticed this delay, diagnosed autism, and ensured that he would receive Early Intervention (EI) speech therapy. EI ends at age 3, but federal law mandates that children in EI be evaluated to transition smoothly into special education services. However, Rashaan’s mother filed multiple requests for the evaluation but failed to get results. Because of the connection between our Chicago Medical-Legal Partnership for Children program and Rashaan’s medical providers, we were informed of this case and many more like it. Program director Amy Zimmerman filed a class complaint with the Illinois State Board of Education, eventually winning the battle and ensuring continuity of care for young children with delays and disabilities. As a direct result of the complaint, the Chicago Public School district...